In this episode of Bodyline, Jardine starts to put his strategy against Bradman into action.
Tropes found here are
- Awesomeness by Analysis: Jardine notices Bradman’s weakness against head height short balls, by reviewing game film and picking Larwood’s brain.
- Honor Before Reason: The stuffy bureaucracy of the Australian Cricket Board refuse to make adjustments to the game scheduling and allow players to avail of earning opportunities during a financial depression, because it isn’t in the spirit of cricket.
- Incurable Cough of Death: Lord Harris starts coughing in bed. And a minute later, he is dead
- Improbable Aiming Skills: Jardine wants his bowlers to bowl short fast deliveries at a very specific line and length. To test his bowlers’ skill, he places a penny at a particular position on the pitch and instructs his bowlers to bowl a short delivery in which the ball will bounce exactly on the penny. Larwood is the only one who succeeds - and he becomes Jardine’s strike bowler.
- The Plan: Jardine sits his bowlers down and outlines his theory of packing fielders close in on the leg side to ensure that whatever shot the batsman plays, will end in a catch, or failing that, will cause the ball to strike him.
- Spanner in the Works: A regulatory snafu about writing for a newspaper while playing in a test match, threatens to prematurely end Bradman’s career and with it, render all of Jardine’s scheming moot.
- Training Montage: Larwood starts training for endurance to be able to bowl fast and accurate for hours if need be. Later, Jardine drills his team in calisthenics aboard ship as Plum disapprovingly looks on.
